The Specialization in Programming with Google Go offers three intermediate courses designed for experienced programmers in other languages who are interested in learning Go. These courses review essential programming concepts and prepare students to explore the specifics of Go.
Taught by Professor Ian Harris from the University of California, Irvine, the courses include quizzes and peer-reviewed programming assignments, encouraging the use of online resources for additional clarification.
Welcome to the first course in the specialization. This module provides an introductory understanding of Go for experienced programmers in C, Python, or Java, covering everything from installing the Go environment to organizing code and managing variables.
Why should you learn Go? What are the unique and beneficial features of the Go language? While opinions vary, certain characteristics are widely recognized as advantages of Go. Here are some of the main points:
- Fast Execution: Go is known for its speed. This is always a positive aspect, and we'll discuss in detail in the slides why this is the case and how it compares to other languages.
- Garbage Collection: In similar high-performance languages, garbage collection is an important feature. It helps manage automatic memory allocation and deallocation, which is crucial for system efficiency.
- Simpler Objects: Go adopts a simplified object-oriented model compared to other languages. This makes it easier and faster to write code without dealing with complex features of other languages.
- Efficient Concurrency: Go has built-in support for concurrency, with primitives that facilitate the creation of efficient concurrent programs. This is crucial for handling simultaneous tasks effectively.
Go is a high-level compiled language, meaning that code is translated into machine language before execution, providing fast performance without the need for interpretation during runtime. Additionally, Go includes garbage collection, a feature typically found only in interpreted languages, ensuring automatic memory management.